Never take weather in the hills for granted

blackvalley

Whats new you might ask ?. Well nothing really its just a reminder of how things can change so quickly over a few hundred meters. I am sure you are all aware of this but a reminder is no harm .
I had been planning to " do a night on Lug " for the past few months and last night was the night . ( yes I know your not supposed to camp on Lug).
Left from Fentons about 4.30 with the temperature about 20 degrees .A rout via Knickeen , Cavanaghs gap, Table ,Camenabologue and directly between Benaleg and Cannow got me to the cairn on Lug by about 8 .I was very surprised at the weather conditions there . Bright , sunny and bitterly cold with a biting south easterly wind. While putting up the tent I had to put on fleece , hat and bottom of my zip off pants. Even with this my fingers were numb by the time the tent was up . Dinner was prepared from the comfort of the sleeping bag while reaching out the door.
Overnight the wind got stronger and it was only the shelter of the cairn prevented it being blown away . Sufficent to say the night was spent rocking and rolling .A plan to take some picture of the sun rise failed as heavy driving fog / mist reduced visibility to about five meters. Once again breakfast was cooked from the sleeping bag .All the packing was done while still inside and it was only at the last moment I ventured outside to pull up the pegs ,ram the tent into the back pack and with the very valuable aid of GPS head straight down towards Camara hill .( and yes I also had map and compass ) . An hour and a half later having shed all but one layer along the way I reached Fentons with the beads of rain now replaced with beads of sweat. As I said an incredible change in conditions over a very short distance.
Forgive my long windedness but the moral of the story is to always be prepared for the worst and the most benign weather can have a nasty sting in the tail .
Stay safe out there and enjoy the hills.

Losty Dublin

Funnily enough, Glen of Immal MR have had a busy year.

http://www.thejournal.ie/heatwave-causes-surge-in-mountain-rescue-callouts-4130240-Jul2018/

Losty Dublin

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Funnily enough, Glen of Immal MR have had a busy year.

http://www.thejournal.ie/heatwave-causes-surge-in-mountain-rescue-callouts-4130240-Jul2018/

Alongside the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team on each and every call-out. Both teams even have team members assisting Mayo MRT on the reek today.

Losty Dublin

JayZeus wrote: »

Alongside the Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team on each and every call-out. Both teams even have team members assisting Mayo MRT on the reek today.

They assist Mayo annually on Reek Sunday.

Losty Dublin

Losty Dublin wrote: »

They assist Mayo annually on Reek Sunday.

Yes, indeed we do.

Along with every other Mountain Rescue team in Ireland, to give fair recognition to all MRT members from all corners of the country.

Back on topic, fair play Blackvalley for the first-hand account of how quick things take a turn on Lug weather wise. It's good to have folks like yourself give their own accounts as respected members of this online community. Too easy to be complacent and Lug has caught out many a casual day-hiker with a rapid change of condition leading to lots of reheated dinners later that night!

Lug can be stunningly beautiful and in just a short time will have your cursing it and wishing you stopped in Fentons or the Lodge for a few pints instead of getting your socks and underpants wet and cold for the day!

Carawaystick

Because of the size of Percy's table there's loads of area for clouds to form on the top of the Lug, and you'ld often see it covered in cloud down to a lower level than the tops of higher (but pointier) mountains